Books
purepedantry | October 6, 2006So I went to the book signing last night for the Best American Science Writing 2006, and it was really interesting so I want to plug this book. In attendance were Jesse Cohen, the series editor, as well as authors Paul Bloom, Dennis Overbye, and Johnathan Weiner.
I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but Dennis Overbye wrote about a convention for time travelers at MIT. Johnathan Weiner wrote about a weird syndrome of combined neurodegenerative diseases that occurs in a cluster on Guam -- possibly because they like to eat bats.
My favorite, however, was Paul Bloom -- a psychology…
clock | October 3, 2006Some musings from February 13, 2005...
At the Triangle Blogger Conference yesterday, somebody mentioned Vernon Vinge's Fire Upon The Deep, as an example of a sci-fi novel describing future consequences of Usenet (at the time) or blog communities. Someone else suggested another book, Bloom. Another blogger (sorry, can't find it again right now, so many people blogged their impressions of the conference afterwards) thought of Terry Pratchett's The Truth as a parable of the way journalism works. I have not yet read "Fire Upon The Deep" (surprisingly, as I own a copy and generally like Vinge a…
pharyngula | October 2, 2006I get a lot of mail from publishers, and this one had me going for a moment…one thing I don't get is much mail from right-wing sources (other than the usual excoriations, of course.) This one looks so much like authentic Republican PR that it took a moment for it to sink in.
Speaking from the heart, not from the brain, this legendary Commander-in-Chief takes us on a journey through his momentous life. The great man we hear here displays his mother's steely resolve and vindictive temper, his father's keen mastery of language, and his own unique gift of deciding.
That's a work of genius……
purepedantry | September 27, 2006Lee Smolin -- author of The Trouble with Physics -- was interviewed on the Leonard Lopate Show (on WNYC) talking about string theory and why he thinks we shouldn't change scientific standards because of experimental difficulties. A really interesting interview. You can listen here (it is a streaming mp3).
pharyngula | September 27, 2006My review of Dawkins' The God Delusion(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll) (currently at #4 on Amazon's bestseller list!) is in the latest issue of Seed, which showed up at my door while I was flying out East. They changed my suggested title, which I've at least used on this article, in favor of the simpler "Bad Religion". You could always buy the magazine to read it, but I'll give you a little taste of what I thought.
Oh, yeah…Seed does that nice plus of having an artist render a portrait of the author, so there's also a picture, artfully ruggedized and made much more attractive than I am in reality. Not…
jlynch | September 26, 2006Bumping this up so as to give Chris some Tempe loving ...
Changing Hands is a legendary bookstore here in Tempe, and tomorrow it will host Chris Mooney at 7pm for a talk on his wonderful book The Republican War on Science which is now available (updated!) in paperback. Chris' book is an eye-opening account of how the GOP has taken the politicization of science to a whole new level and is required reading for anyone (scientist or not) who cares about science in 21st Century America. Bring your copy as Chris will be signing.
Oh, and I'll be there - this might be your chance to meet two…
clock | September 26, 2006John, Elizabeth and Cate Edwards will appear on Oprah this Wednesday, talking mostly about Elizabeth's new book, Saving Graces.
jlynch | September 24, 2006In November 1920, the celebrated author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle announced the beginning of a new "epoch in human thought." He believed that he was presenting "a strong prima-facie case" for the existence of fairies, based on photographs taken by two pseudonymous young girls in July and September 1917. Noting that "in a matter involving so tremendous a new departure one needs overpowering evidence before one can say that there is no conceivable loophole for error," he laid out the case for the existence of fairies in the village of Cottingley, Yorkshire. Some have seen this announcement in The…
pharyngula | September 23, 2006The British seem to have good taste. Look who is at the top of the UK bestseller list:
I know what you are thinking: Where can I get my hands on a copy of Wintersmith? Aside from that, though, it's impressive that The God Delusion has shot to the top so quickly. When I looked at the list of American best sellers, I saw that it wasn't as depressing as I feared:
Chomsky and
Frank Rich on top,
Sam Harris is at #5, and
Dawkins is at #12 and climbing fast. Maybe there's some hope for us after all—at least the literate segment of our population is pondering interesting views.
We still always get…
pharyngula | September 19, 2006Hrm. Well. Since so many people are emailing me about this (I guess the book is officially out now, since so many are reading it), I'll come clean: I am mentioned briefly but flatteringly in Dawkins' new book, The God Delusion(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). I'll spare you all the mystery, and quote it here, blushingly. It's on page 69, in a section titled "The Neville Chamberlain School of Evolutionists" (no, I'm not one of the members, I'm a critic; but as you can tell from the title, it's a strong criticism of a school of thought that says we must appease the fence-straddlers who fear the…
jlynch | September 15, 2006One of the unexpected pleasures of blogging here at ScienceBlogs is that publishers send us books, hoping that we might offer some publicity. The problem with this is, for me at least, once the semester starts, I have little opportunity to read books that are not at least partially related to my teaching or research interests. So, in the interests to quid pro quo, here are a few of the books I recently received but I have as yet not had a chance to read or complete.
Micheal Chorost, Rebuilt: My Journey Back to the Hearing World [amaz]
James Lovelock, The Revenge of Gaia: Earth's Climate…
scientificactivist | September 15, 2006Yep, that's what I was up to last night.
I've added some useful content to the left-hand sidebar of the site. Specifically, I've listed a few recommended books that readers of my blog might enjoy, and I've also listed several worthy science-related causes for prospective donors. The causes come from a recent post on the topic. There seemed to be quite a bit of interest, so I've now added it as a permanent feature.
The list of books is currently short, only consisting of four recommended readings. This section will mostly be for links to books that I've already reviewed, but I've included…
scientificactivist | September 14, 2006Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future
by Jeff Goodell
Houghton Mifflin: 2006. 352 pages.Buy now! (Amazon)
Coal tends to inspire a few common images in our collective minds. Grizzled and hardened miners, working in deep, dark underground tunnels, piece by piece haul out the black feed needed to power the oversized, dirty, rumbling machines spewing out their noxious waste through tall smokestacks. In the process, these beasts power the rise of the world's up and coming superpower, the US.
Dirty. Dangerous. Imprecise. Big.... Old school.
In the Twenty-First Century…
pharyngula | September 10, 2006Oh, no. I've got to add another book to my growing stack: Frederick Crews' Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essays(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). If you knew how many books are piling up on that shelf…
Here's a piece of Jerry Coyne's review:
The quality of Crewss prose is particularly evident in his two chapters on evolution versus creationism. In the first, he takes on creationists in their new guise as intelligent-design advocates, chastising them for pushing not only bad science, but contorted faith:
Intelligent design awkwardly embraces two clashing deities one a glutton for praise and a…
clock | September 6, 2006Elizabeth Edwards will read from and sign her new book Saving Graces on Monday, October 9, 2006 at 7:30 PM at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh:
Elizabeth Edwards writes about growing up in a military family, where she learned how to make friends easily in dozens of new schools and neighborhoods around the world, and came to appreciate the unstinting help and comfort naval families shared. Elizabeth Edwards's reminiscences of her years as a mother focus on the support she and other parents offered one another, from everyday favors to the ultimate test of her own community's strength--…
pharyngula | September 2, 2006At least book memes are easy for me.
A book that changed my life: John Tyler Bonner, On Development: The Biology of Form(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). This just happened to be the first book on developmental biology I read.
A book I've read more than once: Herbert Mason's translation of the Gilgamesh(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). I still bring this one out now and then, for the resonance of it's sorrow over human mortality.
A book I would take with me if I were stuck on a desert island: An impossible decision. First choice: Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Developmental Plasticity and Evolution(amzn/b&n/…
pharyngula | September 2, 2006Via AlterNet, here's another book I'm going to have to add to my wishlist: The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). It'll complement all the information on the subject I get from Jesus' General.
pharyngula | September 1, 2006Physicists get all the fun. Jennifer Ouellette has announced a book I'll definitely be buying: The Physics of the Buffyverse(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). How could I not? It will go on the shelf next to my copy of The Physics of Superheroes(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll).
So, where's The Biology of Superheroes? The creators of superheroes trample all over the principles of physiology and genetics as thoroughly as they do those of physics, so there's got to be a story in there somewhere.
clock | August 31, 2006Michael Pollan, author of "Omnivore's Dilemma" and other good, thought-provoking books, will be on a speaking tour this Fall. Click on the link for details of your place. He will be in my neck of the woods in October:
October 11, 2006, 7 pm: Chapel Hill, NC; Morehead Planetarium at the University of North Carolina
October 10, 2006, 6 pm: Durham, NC; SEEDS Harvest Dinner
You bet I'll be there.
clock | August 30, 2006My SciBling Chris Mooney, as part of his book-signing tour, is finally coming my way. So, if you are from these parts and are interested in the Republican War On Science, make sure to check October 28th and/or 29th on your calendar.